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Sascha Starfin
Sascha Starfin is a well known joker-ace bartender at that Crystal Palace. He noticeably has no eyes, yet is able to trade off this deficiency with a telepathic ability that lets him read other people. At the Crystal Palace he could pour out precisely what a patron desired most, whether they knew it or not. He was also handy to have around for security - one nod from the bar's resident telepath and Elmo, the bouncer, would show them the door. History For years Sascha was a fixture at the Crystal Palace, a famous bar in Jokertown owned and operated by the enigmatic information-broker Chrysalis. Sascha seemed content and to enjoy his work, passing along to his employer any useful tidbits picked up via his telepathy. After arriving in New York from Haiti, the parasitic joker Ti Malice and his "mounts" began gathering useful wild-carders for Ti Malice to feed upon and control. Seduced by Ezili-je-Rouge, Sascha was made to serve Malice and became addicted to his "kiss." For a long time no one realized anything was wrong with Sascha. It was assumed his "girlfriend" Ezili, suspected of being a high-priced prostitute, was making him tired and distracted. A useful mount, Sascha employed his powers to warn his new master of potential threats and the traitorous thoughts of other mounts. One well known fellow mount was Hiram Worchester. After Hiram had received the kiss, Sascha relayed some sensitive information about Chrysalis in a fit of jealousy. This information led directly to her murder, a crime which Sascha did nothing to prevent. Shortly thereafter, Ti Malice was disposed of by detective Jay Ackroyd's teleportation powers and Sascha was left to overcome the devastating effects of withdrawl from addiction to the tiny joker's kiss. Sascha was not seen for a few years, but he must have been somewhere in Jokertown. During Dr. Tachyon's captivity upon the Rox, the alien speculated it might be possible to contact Sascha for help if he could sufficiently boost his then diminished telepathy. In the 90s, Sascha reemerged as an operative of the Ackroyd-Creighton detective agency, employing his telepathy to gather information and help solve cases. He was captured along with Ackroyd and Mr. Nobody while investigating an Australian media tycoon with ties to the Card Sharks. After escaping he was later shot and recaptured by the Sharks when he and Mr. Nobody attempted to rescue Mark Meadows from a lab containing the Black Trump virus. During this second captivity, Sascha became an unwilling test subject for the Black Trump. Unknown to the Card Sharks, Sascha was actually injected with a special Overtrump virus created by Meadows to mimic early Black Trump symptoms, but ultimately provide wild carders with immunity to the deadly Black Trump strain. Sascha survived and went on to other adventures with the agency, including the race to locate and protect Peregrine's son, John Fortune, from the Allumbrados. Wild Card Traits Sascha possesses minor telepathy. Known as a "skimmer," Sascha can only read a person's surface thoughts and cannot probe for deeply buried memories. However, this ability does allow him to detect the presense of people who are in hiding nearby or on the other side of a closed door. Sascha has no eyes, marking him as a joker, just smooth unbroken skin in his eye sockets. Appearance Sascha is tall and skinny with dark hair and a carefully maintained pencil thin mustache. His most obvious characteristic is a lack of eyes, instead having an unbroken expanse of skin due to the wild card. Personality Sascha was a loyal friend and employee to Chrysalis prior to his subversion and control by Ti Malice. While addicted to Malice's kiss Sascha was bitter and ill-tempered, jealous of the other mounts and willing to do anything for another chance to be the chosen mount. Sascha is sharp-tongued and somewhat jaded due to being privy to the thoughts of those around him. Trivia *Sascha is of Russian-American extraction. His mother lives in Brighton Beach. *Sascha lived on the second floor of the Crystal Palace until it burned to the ground following a battle between Quasiman and Lazy Dragon. *Sascha's ex-"girlfriend" Ezili je Rouge also works for the Ackroyd-Creighton Agency, though she has since taken up with their employer Mr. Nobody. Selected Reading References Category:Mounts